Up, close and personal

Selfies are a passe for Mollywood celebs, who have moved onto ‘live chats’. Although actors from M’town were slow in conquering the many wonders of technology, it was a hit when they started sharing candid shots from their shooting locations. While some of them resorted strictly to business for promoting their movies with photos from sets, some used them as a personal space to connect to audience. Although Facebook opened its ‘live’ option for public in April, many top stars started using it only in the past two months. Over the past month, the number of actors doing live chat has grown. Even senior actor Mohanlal could not stay away from it all when he shared a silly video of him teasing an animated cat.

Two weeks ago, actress Vedhika, along with Dileep had come live for the promotion of their latest movie Welcome to Central Jail, what made it interesting was the candid interaction the actors were having among themselves and with the fans who had come online. The video also became much loved when fans observed that actor Dileep was just as clueless about this new technology as they were. Vedhika, who was one of the first south Indian actors to use the ‘live’ feature, says, “Although I try and reply to as many messages as I can from well-wishers and fans, this feature has made it easier. Now, all actors are going live to give their messages a more personalised touch. It’s a way to give back to what they give us.”

Kunchacko and Siddharth

Vedhika adds, “In the beginning, I was not sure, but then I think I was one of the first from Southern film industry to try this out. Suddenly one day, I saw this live button, i didn’t know anything about it. This was around three months back. It was so much fun.” Actress Vimala Raman, who appeared online for the  live last week, says, “I had appeared live for an online news portal. The concept was fairly new for me. It was in connection with the release of my new release Oppam.  It is fun, at times it feels like talking to yourself,” she laughs.

 

Dileep and Vedhika“I was live for 45 minutes. Although it was a wonderful experience, it got quite tiresome because I was trying to read out the names of some of them who had come online and was saying ‘hi’ and was doing a lot of things together.  But I feel blessed that I was born at such a time where such technologies are present. I’m here at Australia visiting family and was away during the release of Oppam, yet I was able to interact with my fans,” she says.Social media expert Abdul Manaf says, “It surely is a trend now. A lot of actors are using it now. But it was Mammootty who first came out with a live video last year, when FB live was open only to verified celebrities. Back then, he shared the video from the location of Puthiya Niyamam.  Recently, the option is open for everyone. Director Aashiq Abu used it for a social cause and did a live interview. That was a notable move. Actor Jayasurya and Aju Varghese are also very active.”

JayasuryaElaborating on the issues actors might face when appearing live, he says, “Although there is nothing negative about such live videos, I think one main issue is when people come and keep on requesting the actors to say ‘hi’ or just call out their names, the interaction becomes boring as they are not asked anything meaningful. It is a useful tool, but this trend might die soon as anyone can post lengthy videos now.”